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Polling Booths

Mrs. Brinton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what plans he has to increase the accessibility of polling booths to the aged who are disabled; [109988]

(2) if he will estimate the increase in the number of people aged 65 or over who would vote in a national election if all polling booths were accessible to those with disabilities [109987]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The Representation of the People Bill includes measures specifically aimed at increasing the accessibility of polling places to disabled voters. In addition, guidance on national minimum access standards for polling places was issued in June 1999; new guidance on disabled access to electoral services is being developed, and grants are available to local authorities for temporary ramps and polling screens. No statistics are collected on the age or disability of voters.

Remploy

Mr. Caton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what Remploy products his Department has purchased in the last three years. [109932]

Mr. Straw: The following Remploy products have been purchased by my Department over the last three years.

16 Feb 2000 : Column: 541W

Year	Product
1997	Office furniture Binders
1998	Office furniture Binders
1999	Office furniture

Franchise

Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has for legislation that would allow long-term residents in the UK from member states of the European Union to be able to vote in all UK elections. [109997]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: European Union citizens can vote in local and European Parliamentary elections in the member state in which they are resident. We have no plans unilaterally to extend these voting rights to Parliamentary elections in this country.

West Mercia Police

Mr. Michael J. Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many civilians were employed by West Mercia Police Authority in each year since 1979. [110120]

Mr. Charles Clarke: The information requested is set out in the table.

West Mercia Constabulary Civilian support staff--1979 to 1999

Year (As at 31 March)	Number of civilians
1979	493
1980	519
1981	540.5
1982	560.5
1983	604.5
1984	701.5
1985	742.5
1986	760
1987	750
1988	744
1989	772
1990	832
1991	836
1992	850
1993	925
1994	918.5
1995	949
1996	963.7
1997	942.1
1998	974.6
1999	975.2
1999 (30 September)	963.6

Asylum Seekers

Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what is his policy with regard to the detention of asylum claimants from states which are party to an association agreement with the European Union; [110031]

16 Feb 2000 : Column: 542W

(2) what information is given by his Department to asylum seekers from states which are party to an association agreement with the European Union regarding their rights to establish themselves in the UK. [110032]

Mrs. Roche: Association agreements do not provide an automatic right of establishment. Information regarding the right of establishment is not provided routinely, but is available to asylum seekers and others on request.

Decisions on whether detention is appropriate are made on a case-by-case basis. Detention is used only as a last resort, and only those who are inadmissible passengers, illegal entrants or subject to deportation action may be detained. The existence of an association agreement between an asylum seeker's country of origin and the European Union is not taken into account.

Burns Inquiry

Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) who determined the criteria used in drawing up lists of those invited to (a) give oral evidence to the Burns Inquiry, (b) attend seminar sessions to discuss commissioned research and (c) set up public meetings for the Burns Inquiry team; [109949]

(2) who set down the criteria used to determine which organisations were consulted in drawing up the list of hunting events for members of the Burns Inquiry to attend. [109954]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The Committee of Inquiry into Hunting has been set up as a committee which is independent of Government. Terms of reference have been given to the Committee, as set out in the reply by my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary to my hon. Friend the Member for Wirral, South (Mr. Chapman) on 9 December 1999, Official Report, columns 617-18W.

The conduct of the Committee, within those terms of reference, is a matter for the Chairman and the members of the Inquiry team.

Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the (a) individuals put forward by interested parties and (b) organisations approached for nominations for membership of the Burns Inquiry. [109953]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: Organisations and Government Departments approached for suggestions for names of potential members of the Inquiry team into hunting included:

The Cabinet Office;


Campaign 2000 (the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the International Fund for Animal Welfare and The League Against Cruel Sports);


The Country Landowners Association;


The Countryside Agency;


The Countryside Alliance;


The Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions;


The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food;


The National Trust;


The office of the Secretary of State for Wales; and


The Wildlife Network.

16 Feb 2000 : Column: 543W

We consulted organisations on the basis that nominations would be received in confidence. It would not be right, therefore, for me to divulge individual names.

Electronic Tracking

Mr. Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 8 February 2000, Official Report, column 142W, on electronic tracking, how many offenders have been granted a variation in the hours of a home detention curfew by prison governors; and in the case of each offender on how many occasions the variation was granted. [110135]

Mr. Boateng: The information requested is not held centrally and could be made available only at disproportionate cost by an examination of individual prisoner records.

Crime (Young People)

Mr. Blizzard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will provide financial support for the work of prisons with schools to direct young people away from crime; [109526]

(2) if he will make it his policy for prisons to use serving prisoners in controlled circumstances to assist young people to address their offending behaviour; [109527]

(3) if he will provide financial support for the work of prisons in developing programmes to address the offending behaviour of young people referred from local courts and youth offending teams; [109525]

(4) if he will make it his policy to include prison staff on youth offending teams. [109524]

Mr. Boateng: Under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, local authorities must plan how youth justice service systems will be delivered locally. If they choose, they may seek to involve the Prison Service in the delivery of those services, including work with schools and the secondment of prison staff to youth offending teams. Funding for this work will, however, in general have to be found from youth offending team resources, since the Prison Service is funded to work with offenders in custody.

Austria (Bilateral Meetings)

Mr. Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the previously planned meetings, and their subject, between his Department and its Austrian counterpart which have been cancelled since the formation of the new Austrian Government. [109869]

Mr. Straw: No meetings between my Department and its Austrian counterparts have been cancelled since the formation of the new Austrian Government, since, so far as I am aware, none were planned.

Mr. Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many bilateral meetings were held between his Department and its Austrian counterpart in each of the last five years; and what subjects were discussed at each meeting since May 1997. [109902]

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Mr. Straw: My Department does not hold a central record of bilateral meetings with counterparts in other European Union member states. But bilateral meetings with Austrian counterparts in recent years have included:

a visit to Vienna by the United Kingdom's then K4 Co-ordinator on 16-17 September 1997;


a visit I made to Vienna on 14 May 1998 for talks with the then Austrian Ministers of Interior and Justice; and


a return visit to London 25 November 1998 by the then Austrian Interior Minister.

All three meetings were in connection with the United Kingdom and Austrian presidencies of the European Union and covered a variety of topics on the Justice and Home Affairs Council agenda.

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